Special Collections

  • Special Collections
    Labor Union of Concord New Hampshire and vicinities in Merrimack County. This group first organized in November 1891 to represent granite cutters, quarrymen, painters, printers, barbers, carpenters, cigar makers, tool sharpeners, plumbers, boot and shoe…
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    Harvard University graduate (1697) and Congregationalist minister. Manuscript sermon preached by Reverend Hugh Adams to the Congregationalist church in Durham, N.H. on Oct. 21, 1739.
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    New Hampshire author who wrote Let Me Show You New Hampshire. A 9 page typescript of The Witch's Cavern, a story about three children who explore a dangerous cave.
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    Graduate of Yale (1785), member of Congress from 1805 to 1819, and political historian. One page letter in which Pitman informs Governor John Treadwell of Connecticut that he accepts his seat in the 12th Congress of the United States.
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    Letter written by “Willie,” a student at Northwood Academy in Northwood, N.H., to his parents. In the letter, Willie thanks his parents for various items they had sent to him in a package, asks about the family, and remembers life at home.
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    Artist unknown A survey of 114 bird species taken for the year 1911, primarily in the Middletown, Connecticut area, but also including Tilton, New Hampshire and a few places in between. Records temperature and wind direction and a few other details. Also records the dates when first and last seen…
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    John Lyon was an Elder of the North Family at the Enfield Shaker Community, in Enfield N.H. Sermon written by Elder John Lyon of the Enfield, N.H. Shakers. The sermon, titled “The Apocalypse Explained,” is a commentary on the Book of Revelations from the New Testament of the Bible.
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    Professor of Fine Arts at Reading University and biographer of English Art Critic John Ruskin. Letter written Sept. 20, 1911 to Alfred E. Richards by Collingwood in which he describes his general health, and criticizes those “people who give their opinions on Ruskin,” so soon after his death. Also…
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    Lemcke was an author and resident of New York City. Two letters and a map from Ernest G. Lemcke, which accompany handwritten manuscripts of his three works: Tribal Hidage, or the First English Census; The Early History of the Gervisse, later called West Saxons (494-597); and The Burghal Hidage and…
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    Printer and politician of Concord, N.H., who lived from 1789 to 1851. Letter (1838) in which Hill lists the names of several blind students resident in Concord. In this Apr. 7, 1838 letter Hill discusses the expenses of several individual pupils and lists the appropriations given to each one.
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    Viola C. Codman (1832-1931) may have been a Shaker for some period of her life, though she later married and had children. She may or may not be the original author of the music portion of the book. Has the name Viola C. Codman of Brattleboro, Vermont written inside. About half the book is…
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    Shaker of Enfield, N.H., musician, and poet. Composer of the popular Shaker song "Millenial Praise". Music book kept by James Russell of Enfield, N.H. The first 56 pages of the book contain a 12 section lesson on the principles of music. Pages 58-145 contain hymns and poems Russell wrote for the…
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    Author, Irish poet and collector of folklore A letter written in New York City by Colum on Jan. 19, 1921 in which he discusses meeting Mr. and Mrs. Kershaw in Peterborough, N.H., while visiting the MacDowell Colony.
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    British artist and illustrator, who lived for a time in the home of Elizabeth Yates and William McGreal in Peterborough, N.H. Three Christmas cards (1950-1960) from Nora Spicer Unwin, Elizabeth Yates and William McGreal to Thelma Brackett, U.N.H. Librarian. The cards primarily express good wishes…
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    Town of Marlborough New Hampshire, Cheshire County. One page description of the town of Marlborough, N.H. The document contains information about the town’s boundaries and geography, roads and schools, churches and ministers, notable residents, and a brief history of its settlement and…
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    Seacoast New Hampshire historian, member of the Northam Colonists. Historical notes on various Strafford County persons, places, and events read by Bertha G. Simpson at the Field Day of Northam Colonists held June 20, 1938 at Simpson’s Pavilion in Dover, New Hampshire.
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    Civil War soldier. Four page letter written from Berryville (Va.) by J.A. Blodgett, Civil War soldier, to his brother. The letter describes skirmishes with Confederate troops around Berryville, Va. during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August-November 1864.
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    A Children’s book author who wrote "Courage of Sarah Noble" and "Bears of Hemlock Mountain." Both won Newbury Honors. Letter written by Alice Dalgliesh from Salt Box, Brookfield, CT on July 8, 1952 to Thelma Brackett, U.N.H. Librarian. In the letter, Dalgliesh thanks Brackett for her kind words…
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    Prolific author of children's books who lived in Peterborough, NH. Letter from Elizabeth Yates to Mrs. Prugh informing her that she and Nora Spicer Unwin are unable to speak at a PTA meeting due to prior commitments.
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    Portsmouth, N.H. newspaper published between July 4, 1827 and Jan. 1, 1828 for the “old school republicans,” dedicated “to the principles of Jefferson, Madison and Monroe.” Broadside announcing the publication of Signs of the Times. It briefly describes the paper, lists the terms of subscription…
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    Minister, Epsom, N.H., lived 1755-1813 Seven holograph sermons, 1786-1813, written on rag paper notebooks and sewn into 7 marbled protective covers. Haseltine, a Dartmouth College graduate, was the minister in Epsom, N.H. from 1784 until his death in 1813…
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    Eight page typed pamphlet and original minutes documenting the proceedings of the New Hampshire Christian Conference held at Durham, May 25, 1832. Also included is an 1839 resolution of the Conference to establish “an Academy of a strictly literary character” in Durham.
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    Henry Wilson, author, United States Senator and Vice-President was born in Farmington, NH in 1812. In 1855 he was elected to the United States Senate, and in 1872 he was nominated for Vice-President on the Republican ticket – a position he held until his death in 1875. Wilson devoted his career to…
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    Benjamin Abbot (1762-1849) headmaster of Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter, N.H.) Three page letter written by Benjamin Abbot to his brother, the Reverend Abiel Abbot. In the letter Benjamin Abbot disagrees with his brother’s opposition to capital punishment.
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    Exeter is one of the earliest towns in Rockingham County, NH. Two Exeter, NH deeds, one of which details land sold by the Trustees of Phillips Exeter Academy to Jedidiah Lakeman (1792), while the other documents property sold by Samuel Rust to James Rundlett (1796).
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    Ida C. Humphrey was born in Dec. 1854. She did not marry or have children. Four page letter written by Ida C. Humphrey from Camp Diamond, Diamond Ponds, Stewartstown, NH to Addie W. Paul of Newfield, N.H. The letter describes Humphrey’s stay at Camp Diamond, including her accommodations and…
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    William Abbot was born in 1773. He was a Harvard University graduate (1797) and attorney-at-law in Castine and Bangor, Me. A three page letter written by William Abbot to his cousin, Abiel Abbot. The letter is primarily a biography of William A. Abbot (1748-1793) of Wilton, N.H., member of the N.H…
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    Frederick Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), the son of Stephen Parrish, was born in 1870 and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts from 1892-1894. In 1898, he purchased “The Oaks”, an estate in Plainfield, NH and became a member of the flourishing artist community in nearby Cornish, N.H.…
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    John W. Dudley was born 7 April 1841 in Flemming, Kentucky, and died 9 Oct. 1921 in the same place. His parents were John Dudley (Sr.) and Adalin Ringo. Four letters from Dr. J.W. Dudley to his mother that span a three-week period, June 3-24, 1906. The letters describe Dudley’s convalescence from…
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    Herbert David Croly, 1869-1930, founder and editor of the "New Republic". Five letters written by Herbert Croly to Charlotte Rudyard. The letters are personal in nature, and in them Croly frequently mentions affairs at the New Republic. There is also a postcard from Louise Croly to Rudyard, as well…
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    Annie Adams Fields, author and wife of James T. Fields, was born in Boston, MA in 1834. She traveled extensively with her husband and formed intimate friendships with some of America’s most well-known 19th century writers and intellectuals. She died in 1915, having outlived many of her…
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    Jessie Evens lived from 1867-1937. “Birthday Ode” written by Jessie Evans to celebrate the one hundredth birthday of Sister Myra Green of Canterbury Shaker Village on March 9, 1935. Words without music to tune of "Auld Lang Syne”.
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    Daniel Webster (1782-1852) was an American lawyer who served in the governments of New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Speech of the Hon. Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, at the dinner given to him by the merchants and other citizens of Philadelphia, December 2, 1846. Published in 1847 in Washington…
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    James T. Fields (1817-1881), author, poet, and publisher, was born in Portsmouth, NH in 1817. At the age of fourteen, he became a clerk in a bookstore in Boston, MA and later a partner in the publishing house of Ticknor and Fields. He edited the Atlantic Monthly, which was published by his firm,…
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    Author and literary critic. Known for the Christmas story Christmas Every Day. Letter written by William Dean Howells that thanks Dr. Perkins for sending medicine and asks him to send more. Photograph included.
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    W.S. Braithwaite (1878-1962) was a writer, poet and literary critic. From 1906 to 1931 he contributed to The Boston Evening Transcript, eventually becoming its literary editor. He also wrote articles, reviews and poetry for many other periodicals and journals, including Atlantic Monthly, the New…
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    Benjamin Penhallow Shillaber, humorist, newspaperman, and poet, was born in Portsmouth, NH in 1814. He moved to Boston, MA in 1833, where he became a journeyman printer. He worked as a printer and editor of several papers, including the Carpet Bag, a…
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    Martin Snow, Civil War sailor, was born in Boston, Mass. in 1839 and died in Blair, Neb. in 1891. He married Caroline Augusta Barker in 1860 and was buried in Pittsfield, N.H., where he once lived and where his daughter, Lena Snow Sargent, resided. Contains a 92-page diary kept by Martin Snow from…
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    Amy Lowell (1874-1925) was a poet, biographer, and essayist who owned a summer home in Dublin, N.H. near the MacDowell Artist's Colony. One page letter (1917) written by Amy Lowell to poet and editor, William Stanley Braithwaite. Lowell describes her lecturing and speaking engagements in N.Y. City…
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    Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, author and editor, was born in Newport, N.H. in 1788. She married in 1813, and when her husband died suddenly in 1822, she began writing to make a living. Her stories and poems attracted a large audience, and in 1828 she…
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    The creator of this register is anonymous. A register from an unidentified Portsmouth, N.H.-based shipping company which serviced both the Appledore and Oceanic Hotels on the Isles of Shoals. The register, which covers from July 2 to September 3, 1912, documents the movement of people and cargo…
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    Daniel Hood (1792-16 October 1866) was a retired sea captain from Portland, Maine. He married Susanna Peasly Sargent. Two letters written by Daniel Hood to Reverend Jacob Hood of Nottingham, N.H., providing the latter with knowledge of the Hood family’s history. The remarks include not only…
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    Joseph Rowlandson was born in England in or around 1631. He served as a Congregational minister, living for a time in both Lancaster and Ipswich, MA, before finally settling in Wethersfield, CT. He was the husband of Mary Rowlandson, whose Indian captivitity narrative made her a famous figure in…
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    Daniel Berkeley Updike, printer and publisher, worked for the Merrymount Press of Boston, Mass. He was a recognized authority on the history and use of print types, and he played an important role in the development and improvement of typography in…
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    Edwin Francis Edgett (1867-1946) was an author, literary editor of the Boston Evening Transcript and a journalist. Thirteen letters (1918-1934) and published materials sent to Edwin Francis Edgett from various N.H. authors and educators, including Charles Townsend Copeland, Bertha…
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    Minutes of the directors and officers of the failed Mt. Belknap Railroad Corporation comprise 26 pages of the volume. They pertain to the corporations financial matters, the election of officials, and the proceedings of annual meetings. There is no evidence that the railroad was ever built.
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    The Society of the Cincinnati was founded in 1783 by George Washington, Baron von Steuben, Henry Knox, and other officers of the United States Army. It was a patriotic and charitable “society of friends,” which had a branch in each of the original…
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    William H. Small (1854-1909) lived in Newmarket, N.H. and served in the fire department as the chief fire engineer. Two letters and a notebook kept by William H. Small. One letter, dated 1865, is from Small’s parents, while the other is from Cyrus A. Sulloway of the N.H. House of Representatives…
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    Lewis Gaylord Clark (1808-1873), editor and publisher of the Knickerbocker magazine. Two letters written by Lewis Gaylord Clark of the Knickerbocker magazine to M.S. Beach inquiring about the possibility of publishing some accounts of the life of the…
  • Special Collections
    United States President Woodrow Wilson, 1913-1921 Two page letter written Oct. 22, 1915 by President Woodrow Wilson to Winston Churchill, New Hampshire writer, in which Wilson thanks Churchill for all his “generous courtesies” in connection with the leasing of a house in Cornish, N.H.